I have lit myself on fire (I'm in a Darwin Awards book), been on stage with Penn & Teller, TV with Super Dave Osborne, scored at Maple Leaf Gardens, "sold" music to Kevin Smith, been in a commercial, and appeared homeless in a rap video. I'm a huge fan of golf, hockey, science, the Oxford comma, and equality. I currently write, create, and eat snacks.

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December 26, 2012

The Next Big Thing

Back in November, when I was knee deep in NaNoWriMo, Sydney Aaliyahtagged
me for a blog hop. I promised I'd get to it once NaNo was over but then December
turned into writing for the Orange Karen anthology
and then the holiday season around my house (and a few billion other households
around the world).

With all that craziness behind me now, I am pleased to be able to answer a few
questions about my upcoming book:

What is the title of your Work in Progress?

I have been writing this story in one form or another for close to a
decade. It's finally taking proper shape as a novel that has gone from being
untitled, to having several crappy titles, back to being untitled, and finally
landing on "No Known Cure".

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The Darwin Awards! No, I'm serious. Back in 2002 I submitted a
"Personal Account" to the Darwin Awards website that garnered Top 20
status in votes the following year. Once I saw those 450 words in print I
knew I had to tell a bigger story. What started out as a film about a subtle
plea for gun control as told through the eyes of God has, ironically, evolved
into a novel about a few people playing God in an effort to control humanity.

What genre does your book fall under?

Mystery Suspense

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie
rendition?

Peter(first half MC)
- Jay Baruchel

Roger (Peter's father) - Dan Aykroyd

Sandra (Peter's girlfriend) - Zooey Deschanel

Dana (Peter's co-worker) - Ellen Page

Jim (second half MC) - Tim Roth (minus the accent)

Sherri (Jims wife) - Lea Thompson

What
is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

My story
is about a government agency searching for a man with an astonishing
secret whose only goal in life is to remain anonymous and what
happens when the two worlds finally collide.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am going to try taking the "conventional" route first
and see how it goes. I'm actually looking forward to writing my first of many
query letters :)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the
manuscript?

A decade! :) Having a full time nine-to-five job, plus two
kids who each take on two activities every week, plus a loving wife that
deserves attention, plus a couple other hobbies/businesses (my bandand my
photography), and time left for writing is pretty slim. The bulk of the
novel was written during NaNoWriMo this year. It was supposed to be two books,
the second of which I started last year but haven't completed. I switched gears
and now that former WIP will be some later chapters of this book (possibly,
we'll see. There are months of edits ahead for this novel). All told, this book
will take about 90 days of actual writing to complete the first draft.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Think of Robert Ludlum's "Bourne" trilogy ,with
a hint of Steve Berry, and a little
Dan Brown's "Digital Fortress"
thrown in for shits 'n giggles. I can only dream to be in the same
ballpark as these guys some day. For now I'd be thrilled if anyone suggested we
were even playing the same sport!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Being able to give my parents a copy of my novel is definitely a driving factor. My Dad was an English major and a school principal and my Mom was a teacher, so being able hand them a copy of a published work of mine would be a big deal. Ultimately, I just need to create. For as long as I can remember I have been following a pretty standard path: I got a degree, got a job, got married, bought a house... Everything was all very "normal"... and then my wife and I had children. Everything changes once you have children and for me it brought forward this passion to create. I take such great inspiration from how my kids view the world - and behave within it - that I feel compelled to create and give something back; and show them that they should follow their own inspirations with dedication and passion, and if they do they can be truly happy.

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